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UBRARV OF CONGRESS 



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FITZ JOHN VOKTER 

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COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS. 



ANDREW H. GREEN i 



COMPTROLLER OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. 






DecerrLbe,?^ 2, 187-5. 






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DErARTMKNT OF PuULlO WoKKS, 

City Hall, Kew Yokk, Decenibcr 2, 1875. 

Hon. Andkew H. Gkeen, 

Comptroller of the City of New York : 

Sir— On the 2d of September you addressed a letter to His 
Honor the Mayor, reflecting upon his supposed inattention to 
what you were pleased to term the wasteful expenditure of the 
public moneys through this Department. The Mayor forwarded 
the letter to me— an unnecessary attention on his part, as you 
do not detain an expectant public — but, disiegarding the re- 
straints of official courtesy, prf)mpt]y give your official cor- 
respondence to the press. 

To your letter I replied, September 20th, and sought to an 
swer your allegations, because, holding an office of dignity and 
power, you ai-e, by some people, supposed to be, what I pur- 
pose to show^ you are not, a person whose statements are 
entitled to respect. 

My correspondence with you and about you has, thus far, 
been conducted with patience and courtesy. 1 sincerely regret 
that the tone of your letter and the inaccuracy of your state- 
ments, compel me now to plainer language than I should in 
another case have chosen. 

With your characteristic, arrogant, and disrespectful lan- 
guage in your connnunication to theMayor, our common superior 
officer, 1 have here nothing to say; but you mistake the judg- 
ment of reflecting men, if, by intemperate language and un- 



founded charges, you seek to make tliem believe that all honesty 
has been lodged in yon, and that eveiybody else should be sus- 
pected. 

You ])ecame Comptroller when bad men had recently sacked 
the City Treasury, and you rose to official distinction by apparent 
contrast with them. 

The times have changed, and the men wdio now fill offices 
over wliich you assume the function of a chief detect! vc. are at 
least your peers in all things, and some of them are in many 
respects your snporioi'S. 

It ma}" be well to consider whether you can afford to arraign 
me or them, unless your pi-oof is as Mell in hand, or as attaina- 
ble, as is other proof in which your personal interests are not 
Braall. 

With these remarks, which are of no special concern to the 
public, perhaps, I come to the text of yonr late letter to the 
Mayor. 

Park Expenditures and RESPONsiBiLixr. 

As a contribution to literature, that portion of your letter 
which seems to be intended for a history of the Parks, is inter- 
esting, and some of it may be veracious. If, however, you con- 
sider that to be an equivalent for the portion of the sum of 
$7,500, paid by you to yourself out of the public purse in 1S68, 
for engaging to write a proper history of the Parks, tax-payers 
may doubt your estimate of its value, though it is all they have 
had as yet for the money. 

The official history of the Parks from 1858 to 1872— that 
history which is to be found in the records of the Park Depart- 
ment, and with which you, as the ruling spirit, then have a pecu- 
liar obligation to be familiar — does not sustain your statements. 

In my letter of the 20th September, I asserted that you were 
respousible for expenses of openings of streets and other lands 
to the amount of $23,248,325.18, and I then gave the items as 
follows : 



" The following are the principal street ancV park openings 
" made on the application of Andrew H. Green, as Comptroller 
" and Treasurer of the Central Park : 

COST. 

" Seventh avenue (widening), One Hundred and 

Tenth street to Ilarlem river . $412,812 97 

" Sixth avenue (widening), One Hundred and 

Tentli street to Harlem river 432,367 00 

" Circle at Fifty-ninth street and Eighth avenue. . 545,819 51 
"Boulevard, Fifty-ninth to One Hundred and 

Fifty-fif ih street 3,607,916 20 

"Plaza at Fifth avenue and Fifty-ninth street.. . 533,530 50 
"Avenue St. Kicholas, and widening Manhattan 

street 989,468 26 

'" Twelfth avenue, Fifty-ninth to One Hundred 

and Fifty-third street 454,215 00 

" Ilighbridge Park 483,622 00 

" Morningside Park and avenues 1,720,192 40 

"Triangle at Boulevard, Ninth avenue, and Sixty- 
third street 153,480 00 

" Riverside Park and avenue 6,173,960 80 

" Broadway widening 4,369,305 52 

" One Hundred and Tenth street widening 188,494 00 

" Eleventh avenue, north of One Hundred and 

Fifty -fifth street 729,700 00 

$20,794,884 16 

" To this should be added openings on the appli- 
cation of the Department of Public Parks, 
Mr. Green being still a member : 

"Triangle at Boulevard, Ninth avenue, and Sixty- 
sixth street 52,232 00 

" Boulevard, from One Hundred and Fifty-filth 

street to In wood street 1,029,875 02 

" Kingsbridge road 1,371,334 00 

" Total cost of openings 23,248,325 18 " 



You re])ly tluvt " this is a inisiepreseiitatioii," and that during 
the time you were in the service of that Department, the total 
expense incm-red for such objects amounted to only $1,456,472.50. 
As the awards were in some cases made after the date you 
name, your assertion is plausible, but as none of those awards 
could have been niade witliout your antecedent authority, my 
statements remain correct in fact. 

The moment you filed your maps as required by law, the 
lands therein mapped out to be taken for public use, were con- 
demned, and the city became by your act responsible for the 
cost of the improvement, sooner or laler, as the openini^-s might 
take place. 

The annexed table (A and B), taken from the Park records, 
confirms my statements. 

In the further prosecution of the investigation into the 
records referred to, your mind will be refreshed, not only as to 
the general liistory of the Parks, but of your persistent leader- 
ship in every movement that looked to the purchase and w'orking 
of other propertj' that you say " was not required for many 
years." One of " these measures to be consummated " under 
your admimstration was that of securing the lands, etc., for the 

Riverside Park, 

The records of the Park Commission show that on the 11th 
of August, 1S6G, you offered the resolution, under which author- 
ity was given to acquire lands of which Eiverside Park was but 
a part. 

You state that the application to take the land was made in 
November, 1868, after a delay of two years from the time when 
the proceeding was instituted ; that at that time competent per- 
sons deemed the land worth $1,400,000, and that the proceedings 
were further protracted and delayed until August 2, 1872 (nearly 
four years moi-e), when the final sum reported as the value, etc. , 
of the land was fixed at over six millions of dollars. 



At the tiine this award was made (August, 1872), the power 
of the " Ring " had been greatly impaired, but you were still 
one of the four Park Commissioners. 

Mr. Thomas C. Fields, wliom you stigmatize as a " cunning 
and corrupt representative of the Ring," was a Commissioner 
with you, and offered (June 19, 1872), a resolution " to stop fur- 
ther work on the Riverside Park;" and for the purpose of 
" wiping out this legacy of the Ring." The record shows that 
the vote on that motion stood — In favor of stopping the work, 
Dillon and Fields. Opposed to stopping the work, Gkeen 
and Olmsted. Under the rules of the Board, the resolution to 
stop the work was loHt^ because the vote was a tie, — and thus, so ' 
far as the Park Commission were concerned, the Ri\erside 
Park became by your vote a permanent care and cost to the city. 

Additional Responsibility for Expenditures. 

Yet you say, from 1870 to 1872, you had " neitlier control nor 
influence in the affairs of the Parks, nor any of the works of the 
city." Wliat you mean by such a statement may be a matter of 
consideration ; but the Park records show that you attended the 
meetings of the Board quite regularly, and that you voted quite 
brisklv for whatever you are now pleased to denounce. For 
instance ; at the organization of the Department by the Charter 
of 1870, on motion of Mr. Hilton, and the combined votes of 
Messrs. Sweeny, Grekn, Hilton and Fields, Mr. (Treen was 
elected Treasurer. 

At the same meeting, you offered resolutions directing the 
Comptroller of the city to place to the credit of the Park 
Department, to be disbursed by you as Ti-easm-er, the sum of 
$598,000. 

On May 21, 187'>, Mr. Fields offei-ed i-esolutions to acquire 
title to land for widening and straightening the Kingsbridge 
road — one of your pet projects. Those resolutions were adopted 
by the votes of Messrs. Sweeny, Green, Hilton, and Fields. 



6 



On September 27, 1870, Sweeny offered a resolution to take 
title to land for Foi-t Washington Park, the nmps, etc., for which 
had been prepared wiih great care by yon under Laws of 1805 ; 
and I find that that motion was carried by the vote of Messrs. 
Sweeny, Grken, Hilton, and Fields. 

On De(;ember 6 following, attention having evidently been 
called to the enormity of this transaction, I find Mr. Sweeny 
{not you) offering a resolution praying the Supremo Court to 
enter an order discontinuing all proceedings in this matter. In 
view of these facts, can j'ou still pretend that you had " neither 
control nor infiuenco in the affaii's of the Parks, nor any of the 
works of the city ?" 

On May 21, 1S71, on motion of Mr. Fields, it was 

Resolved, That the President of the Department of Public 
Parks be authorized to carry into execution by contract w other'- 
wise as allowed by law, the regulating, grading, etc., of that 
portion of One Hundred and Twenty-sixth street lying between 
Sixth and Seventh avenues. Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, 
and Fields. 

You also voted to pay Mr. Hilton $10,000 per annum, as 
Treasurer, and joined in asking the Comptroller for $100,000 
on acccount of Seventh avenue, to be disbursed by Hilton, 

The tabulated statements "A" and "B " present a refreshing 
exhibit for some of the works orginally projected by you, and 
finally fixed upon the city with your vote — and to them I append 
(C) a synopsis of resolutions for other openings, etc., all of which 
were adopted with your vote in favor of each of them — during 
this period of no influence. You always co-operated tlien with 
associates you are pleased to call infamous, now that the public 
has ascertained that which you then knew about them. Then 
they wei-e powerful, and it advanced your interests to be zealous 
in co-operating with them— now they are overthrown by a public 



indignation which has not yet reached its full destination, and 
it advances your interests to characterize them by epithets which 
tliey as well deserved during all your intercourse with them. 

Of one hundred and twenty Resolutions passed in the Park 
Department from x^pril 20, 1870, to November 2, 1872, involving 
expenditure of money, and calling upon the Comptroller for 
$8,559,713.58— 

32 were oifered I)y you ; 
107 were passed with your concurrent vote ; 
13 were passed without your concurrent vote. 

The High Carnival Season. 

You say that after 1870 those in power in the city govern- 
ment and in the Parks, held " high carnival over the prospects of 
plunder." 

The records of the Park Department here again «6how, the 
part you played in pressing or suppressing this "high carnival." 

The annexed statement C, above referred to, gives a synopsis 
of the resolutions offered duriug that period, the name of the 
Commissioner who offered the resolution in each case, and the 
votes on each. 

The taxpayers will fail to find in it that vigilance in their 
interests of which you boast, but will stand amazed to find that 
such a job as the Fort "Washington Park was planned and pressed, 
by you, and only saved from being fixed on the city by persistent 
efforts of ])roperty owners ; that such premature works as tunnels 
and suspension bridges leading to Westchester County, and the 
acquisition of lands on each side of the river at the terminr.s of 
each bridge or tunnel pi-oposed, and the issue of bonds for the 
pur[>ose, failed of accomplishment to be sure, through the efforts 
of othei's, but that you energetically persisted to the last in the 
attempt to fasten the burden of each of these pieces of work 
upon the public treasui-y. 



8 



In but a few minor cases is your voice shown to have been 
raised a,o-ainst any of the projects proposed in the Board, while 
the following are some of those to which yon gave your heart 
and hand : 

The Parade Ground at Inwood, now complained of by you, 
was your scheme, though you wanted it between Sixth and 
Eighth avenues, and One Hundred and Tenth and One Hundred 
and Sixteenth streets, where it would have cost much more. 

Those records show, also, that the " Circle " at Fifty-ninth 
street and Eighth avenue, and the " Plaza" at Fifty-ninth street 
and Fifth avenue, are two of your plans, by which a debt of 
nearly a million of dollars was put upon the city for the benefit 
of a few property owners who were then your friends and worth 
serving 

The useless piece of ground at Pligh Bridge, overrun with 
brambles, but known by the Park records under the pleasant 
title of " High Bridge Park," was purchased at a large expense 
duriug yolir term of office, with your concurrent vote. 

To you, as the records show, are we also indebted for the un- 
necessary and extravagant width of the B(^ulevard, and of Sixth 
and Seventh and St. Nicholas avenues. 

You admit your share of the responsibility, but say the im- 
provements have been piosecuted too rapidly. Yet, in the 
pamphlets prepared — printed and distributed, at public expense, 
over your own name — these improvements were stated to have 
been inaugurated aiul so conducted that the growth of the city 
" might he rapid, and that enhancement of value might occur."^ 

These, your own bantlings, you now denounce as profligate, 
forgetting your published pathetic appeals "for rapid improve- 
ments" and for outlets even into Westchester County. 

So long as you remained the supreme power in the Park 
Board, and were the dispenser of the patronage and funds of the 
Department, all went well, and ''public improvements" were 
nrged forward. 

Now you no longer control the works or dispense that 



9 



patronac^e, and it suits yon to insist that the works must be 
stopped. 

Affilliations. 

As before remarked, 3'ou have referred to Thomas C. Fields 
as a "cunninoj and corrupt representative and efficient aid of the 
Rino;." You liad every opportunity to know him welL Yet I. 
find by the Journal of the Park Commission, this record : 

For six of the sixteen years you were toj^ether in the service 
of the Parks, each gave his vote in favor of the other, for the 
position to which he was elected, Treasurer or Secretary. 

It was on motion of Mr. Fields that your salary, as Treasurer 
of the Parks, was increased in June, 1865, from $7,500 to 
$10,000 per annum, and that (by an arrangement which has 
since been stigmatized as "salary-grabbing") the increase was 
made to date back to January 1 of that year. You seem to have 
favored the back-pay system tiien, and prior in 1859, though only 
for the benefit of your own pocket. 

The records further show that in July, 1S6S, Mr. Fields 
secured to you the payment of $7,500 extra compensation in part 
for comijiling the, as yet, unseen History of the Parks. The 
same day, and on Mr. Fields' motion, leave of absence was given 
you for ninety days to visit Europe. When you returned, and 
on motion of Mr. Fields again, you were paid by the Department 
$1,600 foj- the expenses of the trip, though you drew your salary 
for the whole time of your absence. It was l)y Mr. Fields' 
motion, and by your own vote with his, that the city paid the 
cost of lobbying at Albany and of your expenses there, and also 
that the house on Great Hill was fitted up at the exj)ense of 
$13,000 HS a residence for you. 

It appears that whenever an increase of salary was to be 
voted, Fields offered the resolution, and both he and you voted 
for it. So, too, of resolutions granting you leave of absence to 
go abi'oad with no diminution of pa}', etc., etc., etv.. 



10 



Oil September IS, 1872, yon, as Viee-President, appointed Mr. 
Fields one of two, to examine and audit the Treasurer's accounts. 

These were friendly acts— very — as between yon and this 
** cunning and corrupt representative, and efficient aid of the 
King." 

Yon refer to tlie wasteful manner in which, as 3"on allege, 
the affairs of this Department are now conducted, and give es- 
pecial attention to the previous occnpation of some of the In- 
spectors. You also state that upon their inspection my demand 
is made npon 3'onr Department for payment of employees. 

Replying to these statements in inverse order, I remark, 
that payment is not made upon the certificate of tliese Inspec- 
tors, and that all work has, from time to time, finallj^ to undergo 
the inspection of competent mechanics, and also of educated 
and trusty engineers, and this you knew when you wrote, be- 
cause the certificate of such inspection accompanies the vouch- 
ers, in each case, forwarded to you. 

I may add that, with exceptions, inseparable from the em- 
ployment of large numbers of men, the Inspectors have proved 
tliemselves competent to discharge their duties. Your own life 
demonstrates the fact, that men often assume that they possess 
ability to conduct other business than that for which they were 
trained. 

A public officer may be misled by confidence reposed in the 
source of recommendation, as you have occasion to know in your 
own De})artment. 

You convey a false impression when you assert that a Ijlind 
man was appointed by me to be an Inspector. 

I liave the evidence of the Engineers of the Bureau in which 
the man referred to was employed, that he is not blind, and lam 
assured that, although on the occasion of liis first visit to your 
office he was suffering from a tempoi-ary injury in one eye, and 
was accoinpanied by his son to identify him for payment, on 
the second visit that defect did not exist. The piece of work — 
an undei-ground drain — which he supervised has been finished, 



11 



and bv c-oinpetcnt Engineers has been declared to be not excelled 
in qualily. 

The testimony that will most interest our tax-payers, as to 
the economical conduct of the affairs of this Department, will 
be found in the comparative cost of equal work under my care 
and that heretofore conducted under the care of others. 

I may, under the circumstances, properly anticipate my 
official annual report, and say now that the saving to the city 
will be o\ or thirty-three per cent, for work of equal quantit}^ 
and quality. 

You can S(tarcf^ly claim credit for this. 

Days' Labor and Contract Works. 

I am well aware of the danger of prosecuting public work 
by days' wages, and 1 am awaie that evils may and do occur 
under the system. But I find that the system was begun, and 
that it was advocated by you, and that you for a long time justi- 
fied it and condemned the contract system in these words, which 
I quote from one of your official reports : 

'"' On the other hand, in carrying out an enterprise hy days' 
" work, the interests of all concerned, employed and employer, 
" combine to have the work done in the best manner — the only 
" probable loss to the proprietc>r being in failing to get all of the 
"time and energies of the employed that he pays for. What- 
" ever lie does ^et is directed in his favor.'' 



" Altliough the Croton Boai-d is one of the Departments of 
" the city government, and is bound b}^ the provisions of the 
"Charter of the city relative to contracts, yet none of the laying 
"of their pipes is done by contract, but b}' days' work, under a 
"vigilant supei'intendence. This is because of the importance 
"of this kind of work and of the damage that might accrue 
"from its unfaithful performance. 



12 



" The contract system has its advantages of which public 
"officers should avail themselves; yet, under that system in 
" vogue in this city, what have we witnessed in the Department 
" but frauds in bidding, combinations in bidding, abandonment 
"of contracts, straw securities, lawsuits, injunctions, claims for 
"extra work, delays, and the whole swarm of vexatious acts and 
"artifices in the mystery of contracting that the ingeiniit}' of 
" men bent on gain could devise — in many instances cari-ied to 
"such an extent that reliable, competent mechanics and con- 
" tractors Imve left the field of competition, finding it impos- 
" sible to compete with the acts of dishonesty." 

In view of that, is not your conversion to present belief in 
the contract system somewhat remarkable? 

I trust 1 have refreshed your memory as to whom the " in- 
iquitous system" of days' labor was begun by, and by what persist- 
ent means its fangs have become fastened upon the city, and 
how much more difficult it is for me to-undo what you now deem 
wrong, than it seems to have been for you to have begun it. 

x^PPOINTMEJSTS. 

As to appointments, it has been the misfortune of our 
governments— Federal, State and Municipal— to have appoint- 
ments largely influenced by political considerations. Even the 
Civil Service Law of the Federal Government does not seem to 
have lived an active life. 

The Park Department has been no exception in this matter 
of ])olitical influences in making appointments to office. In 
18()0 the Fark Department expended $601,227.64 on the 
Boulevard improvement for days' labor; and in the f;dl of that 
year Mr. Fields was elected to the Assembly fi-om the district in 
which the work was located. 

It may have been admitted by one of my subordinates to the 
Senate Committee tliat political appointments were made in this 



la 



Department; l)iit I can truly assert that no appointments liave 
ever been made liere, unless there was actual work to be ))er- 
formed for which the applicants were deemed competent. It is 
also ti'ue, as was stated before the Committee, that in no case 
wheie incompetency has been shown, have I hesitated a moment 
in removing tlie officer. I have more than once requested 
you to indicate to me the presence of unfit or inefficient men in 
this Department; but you liave kept silent upon that sub- 
ject in direct communications to me — and the Senate Committee 
was your ]>referi'cd channel for convej'ing the information. 
Those who know you, have no difficulty in divining reasons for 
that course. 

Intkrfkuence wnii the Department. 

I am sorry to say that, from my entrance upon the duties of 
this office, I have expeiieliced nothing but interference on your 
pai't, and obstructions to my efforts to make a successful admin- 
istration of this Department. 

On the 15th of April last, you required me to dispense with 
the time-honored system of triplicate vouchers, which is one of 
the strongest guards against fraud, and is the only means of 
keeping a correct account of expenditures and balances, and in 
its stead you demanded that the system of single vouchers be 
substituted. 

Under the former system, each creditor of the city had to 
give this Department triplicates of each bill ; one of these was 
kept Jieje, and was compared with the triplicate returned by your 
Department after payment. 

Actual collusion between this Department and the Finance 
Department had to take place, under such a system, to render 
fraud possible. Against my remonstrance, you despotically 
broke down this safeguard, which could, by no possibilitv, do 
any harm. Under it, all reductions or changes in accounts were 
promptly reported to this Department. 



14 



Not only did your Department " audit and control," but 
this Department had constant evidence of the exact change you 
had made, or the exact amount paid ; it had also the means of 
fixino- Avhere it might belong the responsibility for improper 
transactions, if any should be attempted. 

Yet this uniform and simple triplicate record of the city pay- 
jneiits— almost abolishing tlie danger coming from accidental or 
intentional destruction, or abstraction of vouchers— you have 
broken up without assigning any reason but to " promote uni- 
formity and simplicity " in the form of rendering accounts, and 
this existed at the time. A section of the Charter, ^vhich was 
intended to give you power to increase the security of the city 
in matters of accounts, 3'ou have perverted and have made a 
source of danger to the treasury. A discussion as to what your 
motives are is not germane to this note. 

The Obstkuctive Policy. 

Notwithstanding your record as an official favoring large and 
unnecessary expenditures of the public money, your present 
"role" is that of reform and retrenchment. To tliis no reason- 
able objection will be made. But anxious as all classes of citizens 
are to adopt a sound policy of retrenchment, they will promptly 
distinguish between a mere obstructive policy and genuine re- 
form. 

Your interference with the duties of this Department, ever 
since your accession to the ComptroUership, has crippled it in ex- 
tending the system for giving the city a better supply of water, 
and to it, through your influence, is mainly due the failure to 
secure authority for additional mains to increase the supply of 
water in the lower and business portions of the city, which wero 
needed and demanded as urgently as now for the preservation of 
property. 

A notable instance of the damaging effects of your obstructive 
interference has just occurred. The fire which destroyed a large 



15 

amonnt of proi)erty in Xassan and Ann streets, a few days ago 
conld readily have been checked had the Croton-mains been laid 
which this Department has been urgently asking the power to 
do. 

If you think property-holders and insurers are likely to mis- 
take your "policy" in these matters for true economy, you 
underrate their sense and final judgment. 

Finally, I had not forgotten that, upon my accession to tliis 
oflS.ce, you had the temerity to say to me, upon an occasion which 
you have not forgotten, that if I did not rid myseif of the influ- 
ences then about me in this Department, and down there (point- 
ing towards the Mayor's office), you would " make me feel your 
power." 

The prompt apology which was required from such an exhi- 
bition of insolence, seems to have been a retraction of your words 
only, and not an abandonment of the purpose to attempt what 
the words expressed. 

During my continuance in this office I shall faithfully en- 
deavor to perform its duties, unconcerned as to the opinion of 
one whose cooperation I once earnestly desired, and by the side 
of whose official record I shall fear no comparison. 

Eespectfully, 

FITZ JOHN PORTER, 
Commissioner of Public Works. 



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20 



Resolutions of tlie Department of Public Tarks, with the 
concurrent vote of Andrew II. Green : 

1870. 
May 8. On motion of Connnissioner Hilton, for the improve- 
n)cnt of City Hall Parh, under the direction of the 
Executive Connnittee. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May 3. On motion of Commissioner Green, calling on the 
Comptroller for the following funds: 

For the Boulevard improvement $200,000 OC 

For the Seventh avenue im])roveraent„. . 100,000 00 

For the Sixth avenue improvement 50,000 00 

For the A\enue St. Nicholas improve- 
ment .')0,000 00 

Fo]- maintenance of the Park — deficiency 

in 18G9 27,357 08 

For Mount Morris Park 1,356 50 

For Eighth avenue, adjoining the Park. . 25,000 00 

For City Parks and Places 95,000 00 

For Central Park improvement 50,000 00 

Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May 6, On motion of Commissioner Green, designating Na- 
tional Bank of Commerce as the depository of the 
funds of the Department. 
Ayes — Sween^', Green, Hilton. 

May 6. On motion of Commissioner Green, for the withdrawal 
of $200,000 from bank for use of the Department. 
Ayes— Sweeny, Green, Hilton. 

May 6. On motion of Commissioner Green, authorizing (he 
Treasurer to pay salaries, bills, etc. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton. 



21 



1S70. 
May 6. On motion of Commissionor Green, calling on the 
Mayor, Aldermen, etc., to issue "Oentral Park Im- 
provement Stock," $460,666.66. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton. 

May 6. On motion of Commissioner Fields, directing that work 
on Boulevard be prosecuted with additional 
efficienc}', etc. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May 0. On motion of Commissioner Hilton, authorizing the 
Treasurer to purchase gravel and other material for 
Central Park. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May. 16. On motion of Commissioner Green, authorizing the 
Treasurer to pay 50 per cent of reserved percentage 
on contracts of J. H. Sullivan & Co. and Thomas 
Crimmins, for regulating and grading Seventh 
avenue. 
Ayes — Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May 16. On motion of Commissioner Fields, authorizing the 
Treasurer to purchase supplies and materials. 
Ayes — Gi'een, Hilton, Fields. 

Mav 10. On motion of Commissioner Hilton, establishing the 
following salaries of ofhcers in the Department : 

Comptroller $5,000 per annum. 

Engineer-in-Chief 5,000 " 

Architect-in-Chief 5,000 " 

Superintendent Ceiiti'al Park 5,000 " 

Landscape Gardener 3,000 " 

Captain of Police 2,000 

Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 



1870. 
May 19. On motion of Commissioner Hilton, authorizing the 
Executive Committee to consider the subject of 
selecting location for Parade Ground. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May 24. On motion of Commissioner Fields, to acquire title to 
Kino-sbridge road. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields, Dillon. 

May 24. On motion of Commissioner Hilton, directing the 
President to execute lease of second and fifth floors 
of 265 Broadway, for offices. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields, Dillon. 

May 81. On motion of Auditing Committee, approving bills 
audited to the amount of $39,413.70. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields, Dillon. 

May 31. On motion of Executive Committee, establishing eight 
hours as a day's work. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields, Dillon. 

May 31. On motion of Auditing Committee, approving acts of 
Executive Committee. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. 

May 31. On motion of Executive Committee, directing the 
President to have One Hundred and Twenty- 
sixth street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 
regulated and graded, by conti-act or other- 
wise, and calling on the (Comptroller for funds 
therefor, $5,000. 

Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. 



23 



1870. 
May 31. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, calling on the 
Comptroller for funds for maintenance of Museum 

and Observatory $30,(J00 00 

ImiH'ovement of Mount Morris square. . . . 15,000 00 

Improvement of Circle 10,000 00 

Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon Hilton, Fields. 

June 7. On motion of' Auditing Committee, approving hills 
audited, amounting to $1,813.00. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, i^'ields. 

June 7. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, for witlidrawal of 
$200,000 from bank for use of Department. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. 

June 7. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, calling on the 
Comj)troller for funds for improvement of City Hall 
Park, $10,000. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. 

June 7. On motion of Commissioner Green, calling on tlie 
Supervisor of West Farms for funds for surveys, 
$10,000. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Dillon, Hilton, Fields. 

Sept. 27. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, 
amounting to$95,016.19. 
A^'es — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

Sept. 27. On motion of Conniiissioner Sweeny, to acquire title 
to Fort Washington Point Park. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. (Laid out by Mr. 
Green, under Law of 18G5. Subsequently annulled 
on motion of Mr. Sweeny, December, 1870.) 



24 



1871. 
May 2. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, to pay tlie 
Treasurer a salary of $10,000 per annum. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Fields. 

May 2. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, calling on the 
Comptroller for funds for Seventh avenue improve 
ment, $100,000. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May 2. On motion of Commissioner Fields, to acquire title to 
Ninety-seventh and Ninety-eighth streets, between 
Eighth avenue and the Boulevard. 
Ayes — Sweeu}', Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May 2. On motion of Connnissioner Fields, for withdrawal of 
$300,000 from bank for use of the Department. 
Ayes — Swxeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

Mav 23. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, to acquire title to 
One Hundred and Sixth and One Hundred and 
Seventh streets, between Fifth avenue and Harlem 
river. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

May 23. On motion ol' Commissioner Fields, to acquire title to 
the folh^wing streets: 

Tenth avenue extension around Fort George Hill, 
Dykman street, between Kingsbridge road and 
Harlem liver. Three several streets between Tenth 
avenue and Kingsbridge road, in the vicinity of Fort 
George Hilh 

The triangle (Public Place) at Boulevard and 
Sixty-sixth street. 

Ayes — Sweeny, Gi'een, Hilton, Fields. 



25 

1871. 
Nov. 14. On motion of Commissioner Fields, calling on 
Treasurer of Westchester County for funds for 
surveys, $20,000. 

Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

Nov. 14. On motion of Commissioner Sweeny, calling for issue 
of bonds for improvement of Ilarlem river bridges 
and tunnels. 
Ayes — Sweeny, Green, Hilton, Fields. 

Nov. 28. On motion of Commissioner Green, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins. 

Dec. 5. On motion of Commissioner Churcli, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Stebbins. 

Dec. 12. On motion of Commissioner Green, directing the 
Treasurer to carry out the improvement of One Hun- 
dred and Fifty-fifth street, from Tsinth avenue to 
Hudson river, by contivact or otherwise. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Stebbins, Church. 

Dec. 12. On motion of Commissioner Dillon, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Stebbins, Church, 

Dec. 2t>. On motion of (Commissioner Fields, approval of bills, 
$70,253.34. 
Ayes — Green, f)ilIon, Fields, Stebbins. 

Dec. 26. On motion of Commissioner Fields, withdrawal of 
$100,000. 
Aj^es— Green, Dillon, Fic.'lds, Stebbins. 



20 



1872. 
Feb. 14. On motion of Mr. Green, for withdrawal of $100,000 
from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Chui'cli. 

Feb. 28. On motion of Mr. Green, callinc; on Comptroller for 
moneys appropriated by chapters 9 and 29, Laws of 

1872. 

Ayes — Green, Dillon, Church. 

Feb. 28. On motion of Mr. Green, tixing salary of Treasurer at 

$10,000. 

Ayes — Green, Dillon, Church. 

Mar. 6. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

Mar. 6. On motion of Mr. Green, fixincj salaries of Olmsted and 
Vaux at $10,000, and that of C. Ryan, Superintendent, 

at $5,000. 

Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

Mar. 13. On motion of Mr. Green, for withdrawal of $100,000 
from bank. 

Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins. 

Mar. 13. On motion of Commissioner Stebbins, callinor on the 
Comptroller for funds, as follows: Central Park 
Improvement Fund, $200,000 ; City Parks Improve- 
ment Fund, $200,000. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins. 

Mar. 13. On motion of Mr. Green, to rebuild bridge No. 26. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins. 



27 



1872. 
Mar. 20. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, 
amounting to $11,041.12. 
A3'e3 — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Cliurch. 

Mar. 20. On motion of Mr. Green, directing the planting of 
trees on the Boulevard. 
Ayes— Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

Mar. 27. On motion of Commissioner Church, calling on the 
Comptroller for funds for improvement of One Hun- 
dred and Forty-fifth street, $35,000; for improvement 
of Tenth avenue, $100,000. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

Mar. 27. On motion of Audit. Com., a))])rovi_ng bills audited, 
amounting to $.^,864.06. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

Mar. 27. Commissioner Green appointed a Committee to pre- 
sent to the Board of Street Openings the applica- 
tion for opening Sullivan sti'eet, from Amity to 
Fourth street. 
(No vote I'ecorded.) 

April 9. On motion of Commissioner Green — 

liesulved^ That work on the Boulevai'd be pushed 
forward to sjK^edy completion. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

April 1). On motion of Commissioner Dillon, designating Xational 
Park Bank as depositoi-y. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

April 9. On motion of Commissioner Green, leferring to 
Special Committee the question of impioving Moin- 
ingside avenue, west. 
(No vote recorded.) 



28 



1872. 
April 0. On motion of Commissioner Green, directing the pav- 
ing of Avenue St. Nicliolas. 
Aj'es — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church, 

April 9. On motion of Commissioner Green, directing that 
immediate steps be taken for regulating and grading 
One Hundred and Tenth street, from Fifth avenue 
to the Boulevard. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church, 

April 9. On motion of Commissioner Green, for withdrawal of 
$150,000 from bank. 

Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

April 9. On motion of Audit. Com, approving bills audited, 
amounting to $43,559.89. 
Aj'es — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

April 24. On motion of Audit. Com., ajiproving bills audited, 
amounting to $4,075.54, 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

April 24. On motion of Commissioner Green, for withdrawal 
of $150,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

May 8. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal 
of $150,000 from bank. 

Ayes — Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church, 

May 8. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, 
$73,803.22. 
A^'cs — Green. Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 



29 

1872. 



mIv^ 8 On motion of Commissioner Green, directing the 
Treasurer to pay Olmsted and Vaux $5,000, for plans 
and services. 
Ayes— Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

May 15 On motion of Connnissioner Church, calling on Comp- 
troller for funds for Seventh avenue improvement, 
$^00,000. 
Ayes-Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

May 15. On motion <.f Audit. Com., approving bills audited, 
$28,156.09. 
Ayes- Green, Dillon, Stebbins, Church. 

May 29 On motion of Commissioner Green, to acquire title to 
the Boulevard, north of One Hundred and Fifty- 
fifth street. 
Ayes-Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

May 29. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, 
$30,284.24. 
Ayes— Green, Fields, Church Olmsted. 

June 5 On n.otion of Comnnssioner Green, to acquire title to 
a street parallel to and 2,644 feet north of One 
Hundred and Fifty-fifth street. 
Ayes-Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

June 5. On n.otion of Connnissioner DiUon, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes-Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

June 5. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, 
$43,207.91. 
Ayes-Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 



30 

1873. 
June 12. On motion of Andit. Coin., approving bills audited, 
$50,407.77. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Churcli, Olmsted. 

June 12. On motion of Commissioner Churcli, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Aj'es — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

June 19. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited, 
$41,450.12. 
Ayes— Green, Dillon, Fields, Churcli, Olmsted. 

June 19. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdniwal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

June 26. On motion of Commissioner Green — 

Whereas, By a resolution of this Board, adopted on 
the 24th day of May, 1870, the necessary measures 
were adopted to secure the widening of Ivingsbridge 
road, between the westerly side of One Hundred and 
Fifty-fifth street and the Harlem river ; and 

W/iereas, More than two years have elapsed since 
the adoption of the above resolution, and the interests 
of the public are unfavorably affected by the dela}'-, 
and the necessary arrangements for sewerage and 
water supply are retarded, much to the inconve- 
nience of the inhabitants of the northerly part of the 
Island ; 

Resolved, That the President be requested to 
ascertain and report to the Board the reasons for the 
delay in these proceedings, and to report to this Board 
whether any measures can be taken to expedite the 
same. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 



31 

1873. 
June 26. Similar preamble and resolution adopted relative to 
streets and avenues to be opened north of One Hun- 
dred and Fifty-fifth street. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

June 26. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdravt^al of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

July 10. Resolution to discontinue proceedings for opening 

Riverside Park defeated. 
Ayes — Dillon, Fields (many petitions presented 

against opening). 
Nays — Green, Olmsted. 

July 17. On motion of Mr. Green, designating Third National 
Bank as depository. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

July 17. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes— Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

July 17. On motion of Commissioner Church, calling on the 
Comptroller for funds : 

City Parks Improvement Fund $50,000 

Central Park '• " 100,000 

Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

July 17. On motion of Auditing Committee, approving bills 
audited, $30,478.65. 
Ayes — Green, Dillon, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

July 30. On motion of Mr. Green, calling on Comptroller for 
balance of City Parks Improvement Fund, 

Ayes — Green, Fields, Olmsted. 



32 



1872. 
Auc^. 7. On motion of Mr. Grreen, approving plan for improve- 
ment of triangle at Boulevard and Sixty-third street, 
and directing work to be done. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

Aug. 7. On motion of Commissioner Church, calling on Comp- 
troller for fuuds for Museums of Art and Natuml 
History, $100,000. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

Aug. 7. On motion of Commissioner Green, to acquire title to 
approaches to jM-oposed bridge and tunnel across 
Harlem river, both in City and County of New York 
and Westchester County. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

Aug. 7. On motion of Commissioner Fields, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

Aug. 7. On motion of Mr. Gi'cen, approving plan of park en- 
trance at Fifth avenue, Fifty-eighth to Fifty-ninth 
street. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

Aug. 21. On motion of Auditing Committee, approving bills 
audited, $38,382.65. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Olmsted. 

Sept. 4. On motion of Commissioner Church, to pay Calvert 
Vaux, architect, a commission of 2^ per cent, on 
cost of the Museum Buildings. 

Ayes — Green, Church, Olmsted. 

Nav — Fields. 



33 

1872. 
Sept. 4r. Resolutions, successively offered by Mr. Fields, to de- 
duct from tlie above commission* the annual salary of 
$6,000 paid to Mr. Vaux; to pay the commission 
from the date of his j-esiojnation as Architect to the 
Board : to deduct the time devoted to plans for 
Museum Buildings from the salary of $6,000, were 
voted down as follows : 

Aye — Fields. 

Nays— Green, Church, Olmsted. 

Sept. 4. On motion of Commissioner Church, approving plan 
and directing improvement of triangle at Boulevard 
and Sixty-sixth street. 
Ayes — Green, Fields. Church, Olmsted. 

Sept. 4. On motion of Commisioner Church, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

Sept. 18. Mr. Green, as Vice-President, appointed Fields and 
Church as Auditing Committee. 

Sept. 18. On motion of Commissioner Olmsted, for withdrawal 
of $100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

Sept. 18. On motion of Commissioner Olmsted, calling on the 
Comptroller for funds — City Parks Improvement 
Fund, $300,000 ; Central Park Improvement Fund, 
$200,000. 
^\yes — Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 

Oct. 2. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal of 
$100,000 from bank, 
^yes— Green, Fields, Church, Olmsted. 
3 



34 



1872. 
Oct. 2. On motion of Andit. Com., approving bills audited, 
$36,453.29. 

Ayes — Green, Fields, Chnrch, Olmsted. 

Oct. 16. On motion of^ Commissioner Olmsted, for withdrawal 
of 100,000 from bank. 

Ayes — Green, Churcli, Olmsted. 

Oct. 16. On motion of Andit. Com., approving bills audited, 
$22,653.54. 

Ayes — Green, Churcli, Olmsted. 

Oct. 24. On motion of Mr. Green, appointing- F. W. Whittemore 
Treasurer. 

Ayes— Green, Stel)bins, Chui'ch. 

Oct. 21. On motion of Commissioner Clnirch, calling on the 
Comptroller for funds — City Parks Improvement 
Fund, $200,000 ; Central Park Improvement Fund, 

$100,000. 

Ayes— Green, Stebbins, Church. 

Nov. 2. On motion of Commissioner Stebbins, calling on 
Treasurer of Westchester County for funds for 
surveys, $30,000. 
Ayes — Green, Stebbins, Church. 

Nov. 2. On motion of Audit. Com., approving bills audited 
$11,932.22. 

Ayes — Green, Stebbins, Church. 



35 

1872. 
'Nov. 2. On motion of Commissioner Stebbins, establishing 
salaries as follows : 
Frederick Law Olmsted, Landscape 

Architect $10,000 per annum. 

Calvin Vaux, Consulting Architect. 5,000 " 

F. W. Whittemore, Treasurer 7,500 

Isaac Evans, Assistant Secretary. . . 3,000 " 

Ayes — Green, Stebbins, Church. 

Nov. 6. On motion of Commissioner Church, for withdrawal 
of $100,000 from bank. 
Ayes — Green, Stebbins, Church. 



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